RTTue, 24 Mar 2020 04:54 UTC
An Arizona man has died after consuming a substance used to clean aquariums - but is also found in a drug the US president said could treat Covid-19 -
prompting the US media to hop aboard the Trump blame train, details be damned.The Phoenix-area man and his wife - who survived - ingested a form of chloroquine used as a fish tank cleaner on Monday, reportedly after hearing President Trump mention the chemical on TV. Though the substance is similar to one used in an anti-malaria drug touted as a possible treatment for the coronavirus,
the aquarium additive comes in a different form and is highly toxic to humans. But that hasn't stopped a spate of media outlets from casting blame on the president, insisting he encouraged the couple to guzzle down a lethal dose of a dangerous drug.
From NBC, to the Hill - which falsely claimed the man had taken a "malaria medication" - to ABC and beyond, much of the US press corps rushed to place the tragedy squarely on Trump's shoulders. Netizens soon pointed out the problem with that framing, however, shredding the news agencies for running with a "dishonest" narrative.
While the president did suggest the anti-malarial had "very encouraging early results" in treating Covid-19, he noted it would still have to undergo clinical trials. At no point did he recommend anyone self-administer the drug outside the care of a doctor, and certainly never called for the consumption of any form of fish tank cleaner, as many pointed out on social media."BREAKING FROM @NBCNews! Do NOT ingest FISH TANK CLEANER,"
wrote former Trump staffer Boris Epshteyn.
"They ate aquarium cleaner chemicals. Aquarium cleaner,"
said another netizen. "Sad, but Trump isn't responsible for people's stupid actions."
The Arizona man is not the first to go wrong in attempting to self-medicate with the substance, with a number of reports out of Nigeria stating that hospitals had seen a series of chloroquine overdoses following President Trump's first mention that it could be used to combat Covid-19.
Comment: Here's another example of "truth in media". Note the headline and compare it to the first paragraph:
Arizona man dies after taking chloroquine for coronavirus
By Deena Beasley
March 23 (Reuters) - An Arizona man has died and his wife is in critical condition after they ingested chloroquine phosphate - an aquarium cleaning product similar to drugs that have been named by President Trump as potential treatments for coronavirus infection.
The couple, in their 60s, experienced immediate distress after swallowing the drug, an additive used at aquariums to clean fish tanks, according to Banner Health Hospital in Phoenix.
Chloroquine phosphate shares the same active ingredient as malaria drugs that President Trump has touted as possibly effective against COVID-19, the potentially life-threatening disease caused by the coronavirus.
On Saturday, Trump tweeted about the combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, saying it had "a real chance to be one of the biggest game changers in the history of medicine."
[...]
1) the stupidity and gullibility of AmeriKants; WAFF
2) How low the MSM will go.
R.C.